February 18, 2008
Psl4ports
Giace
By MATTHEW BIRX
Staff Reporter
MDM337@PSU.EDU
In Penn State Harrisburg sports
news it was an ok weekend for the
basketball teams. The Men's team
after beating Lancaster Bible 73-
69.
The Lady Lions beat Lancaster
Bible 68 to 54 on Friday.
In other Penn State sports news,
you the fans and students have kept
Beaver Stadium among the nation's
top stadiums again this past year.
The year total for all 7 homes
games was 762,419. That breaks
down to an average crowd of about
108, 917 which is a new record for
Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions fans for ranked
second this year for attendance
and have been ranked for 17
consecutive years.
In football news, the season
highlights DVD is now available
for purchase. This DVD includes
all of the big plays and coach
Paterno's induction into the
College Football Hall of Fame.
In other football news, the Big
Ten is waiting patiently on what
quarterback Terrell Pryor will do.
If he chooses Penn State this will
test Paterno's loyalties.
What will the coach do? Will he
red shirt Pryor? Will he sit Clark
and Devlin? Or will he run a 2
quarterback system like Florida did
to win the National Championship?
What's next for the team and the
coach?
Will Paterno feel pressure from a
renewed contract that Spainer has?
Or will Spanier collapse and cave
into to Paterno? After the Patriot
News talked with the Board of
Trustees it seems that Spanier has
them in his baCk pocket and enough
power to 'give Old Joe the boot so
to say.
Contrary to what the rumor mill
hast o say Joe and Spanier have
not meet yet to discuss the coach's
future and Joe did not quit. So the
future is very much up in the air.
Who could replace Joe after next if
his contract is not renewed? Tom
Bradley? Or someone else?
Now we all have to the play
waiting game with these two. Who
is going to blink first and give in?
My bet is Spanier will come out
victorious is this respect because he
seems to have the backing of most
of the board of trustees.
In wrestling news the Lions have
won and moved up to No. 9 in the
NWCA/USA Today coaches poll.
The Lions are set to host Michigan
and Purdue in a dual match. These
are the final home matches of the
year for the men's team.
"All I can say is that Tim Curley,
Joe Paterno, and I plan to get
together before long but we
have not been able to do so yet
due to our collective scheduling
commitments. We have seen each
other at university events, of
course, such as the Hall of Fame
induction and associated events."
Said Spanier in the Patriot News.
As for whether Paterno could
possibly be back beyond 2008
or whether his successor would
necessarily be chosen from the
current staff, Spanier refused
comment
"He's always saying that this
is what he likes to do, that he
doesn't play golf or have any other
hobbies," said one trustee. "Well,
that isn't our problem. I think if he
wasn't the coach, he'd still be as
busy as ever. He could be a full
time fundraiser and really help the
university." "Now, I see recently
where Joe has been asked about
planning a successor and stepping
down soon and his response is,
`What would I do?'
The Lady Lions at U-Park hosted
a THINK PINK game over the
weekend to promote Breast Cancer
awareness
THE CAPITAL TIMES
By TIANNA SEGNERI
Staff Reporter
TXS39@PSU.EDU
The bitter cold and excessive
rainfall proved to be no competition
for the opportunity to get an in
depth look at the many careers in
sports media.
More than 200 college students
convened in the Diamond Club at
Citizens Bank Park, home of the
Phillies, for the third annual College
Media Day held earlier this
month. The event offers
students and fans alike a
unique opportunity to learn
what it takes to work at the
forefront of major league
baseball. Although the day
was termed as the third
annual event, it is only so
because it is the third event
in the new stadium. The
first college media day was
actually held before most
of the attendees were born
according to Larry Schenk,
Vice President of Public
Relations for the Phillies and
so-called dean of the sports
PR industry.
He informed the eager
crowd how lucky we were to
be participating this year as it
had been re-designed to offer
break-out sessions in addition
to Q&A sessions with panel
speakers
Jayson Stark, senior baseball
writer and talent for ESPN.
com, kicked off the day with
his thoughts on the emerging
media and what it means
for the profession of sports
journalism. Jayson considers
himself to be the luckiest guy on
the planet because he is living out
the dream he has had since he was
11 years old. At that early age he
was just as interested in what was
happening in the press box as the
'enn State Harrisburg baseball preseason update
By ALLISON MILLS
Staff Reporter
MXA932@PSU.EDU
Three years ago, Penn State
Harrisburg brought intercollegiate
athletics to the students. The
softball
according
to head
coach Tanya
Dengler, is
returning
for its fourth
season
stronger
than ever
This season
will be the
team's first
year playing
in NEAC's
Division
111, which
Dengler
expects
to be very
competitive
However
challenging playing in this new
league may be, PSH's softball
team aspires to compete in the
NEAC Conference Championship
Tournament.
This goal may seem lofty,
especially considering the loss
of six players from last season,
but with the talented addition
of transfer student-athletes and
players new to the college level of
play, Dengler confidently predicts
that the team will be stronger this
season.
A unique challenge facing these
Lady Lions is the high percentage
of players who transfer to
University Park or other campuses
to fulfill their major requirements.
Penn State Harrisburg has only 30
Baccalaureate degrees, and many
students use PSH as a stepping
stone to University Park. This
system puts a strain on athletics
here in Harrisburg. However, with
active recruitment, the softball
team is able to conquer this slight
ies sports med
game itself. marketing, broadcasting, video
Over the past 30 years, his career services or fan development and
has evolved with the birth of new communit relations. A common
media and transitioned from writing
for the Philadelphia Inquirer to
posting blogs and podcasting from
his living room. The opportunities
for today's students are endless
as we are able to create our own
niche as did Tim Dierkes, creator
of mlbtraderumors.com. Lessons
learned: follow your passion and
study your role models.
Students were able to behind
the scenes with the Phillies staff
to several breakout sessions to
learn about public relations (PR),
obstacle. When asked if there
are any players in particular to
keep an eye on, Dengler smiled
and responded that she is very
excited to coach the whole group
of talented women that make
up Penn State Harrisburg's
softball team
To match the quality of the
players, a few improvements
have been made to the softball
field. A fast pitch, regulation
home run fence has replaced
the previous seasons' slow
pitch home run fence.
Bullpens, or warm-up pitching
areas, have also been added to
both home and visitor areas.
Students should keep in mind
to attend the games pitting
Penn State Harrisburg against
its two biggest rivals, Penn
State Hazelton and Berks. PSI I
home on Thursday, March 27
at 2 p.m. The Penn State Berks
game will be played at the Berks
campus on Thursday, April 17 at
3 p.m. A few more conference
(home) games to check out are:
D'Youville College on Sunday,
March 30 at 1 p.m., Wells College
theme amongst the Phillies staff was
that they love the game and they
started their tenure with less than
glamorous internships.
The PR session was held in the
media room, the same spot where
the press conference with third
baseman Pedro Feliz was held
the day before. One of the most
challenging days of the year for the
PR staff will no doubt be opening
day, described by one of the panel
as chaos.
Maybe the stress of the day will
on Sunday, April 4 at 1 p.m. and
Philadelphia Biblical College on
Friday, April 25 at 3 p.m.
The softball team will be opening
their season by playing in Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina during
Spring Break, March 10 through
15. Excited to be staying in a
beachtiont hotel, the team will
surely need rest and relaxation
throughout the week as they are
playing eight games in four days
a essons
be offset by the time they spend in
Florida for training camp. By no
means will this be no work and all
play as they will be maintaining the
same player-media relationships
there as they would here, but
the weather has to account for
something right? The Phillies PR
staff works hard, and they work
long hours few days off with 162
games in the regular season. The
relationship they develop with the
players is crucial because you have
to get them involved with media
events that go beyi4wlAbe,playing
field and those relationships are
built on trust. Lesson learned: "If
It will be a grueling week for sure,
but it will undoubtedly be a great
experience to start off Penn State
Harrisburg's softball team's fourth
season.
Challenges will also face
Baseball team, after weeks
of being pent up after weeks
of practicing in the gym with
no promising signs of green
grass in the near future.
Head Coach Robert
Maschmeyer believed all the
hard work in the gym will
pay off this season.
Although the team has
lost four players from last
season, 15 new players, who
Maschmeyer said are "more
than capable of filling any
voids," have stepped in.
All 24 players of the Penn
State Harrisburg baseball team
must meet high expectations from
their coach. Maschmeyer expects
everyone to excel and stated that
their success will depend on the
efforts of all the players on the
team.
you don't like people, do something
else" and although you may be a
fan of the game, don't write it on a
cover letter!
After a ballpark style lunch and
the chance to mingle, sports writers,
broadcasters, radio personalities,
videographers and photographers,
entertained the questions of a very
inquisitive audience.
Some notable names include
Leslie Gudel, sports anchor
for Comcast Sports Net, Jody
McDonald, host of Sports Talk
950 AM and Gary Papa, Sports
Director for 6ABC News in
Philadelphia.
All of the panelists discussed
their careers, the unique paths the
followed to get where they are
today. They shared strategies for
capturing the story and pitching
that story so it gets heard, not
lost in a pile of faxes in the
assignment room. Paul Luongo,
sports producer and talent for
FOX 29, offered the attendees
the chance to pitch a sound bite
for training camp, something that
wasn't obvious.
There was a tie between the
coach's perspective in evaluating
the players, and who was in
charge of the sunscreen. I was
a day late and a dollar short for
pitching mine, maybe next year.
Lessons learned: Take chances.
The Phillies College Media
Day is something that anyone
interested in communications, not
just sports media, could benefit
from.
The experience and lessons learned
were worth the two-hour drive in
the rain
For more, visit www.phillies.com/
collegemediadav to find out how
you can attend in 2009.
The 15 new players are not the only
addition to the team. This season
will be the first home game that Penn
State Harrisburg's baseball team
will play on the college campus. The
new baseball field is nearly finished,
done, and only the
bullpens and scoreboard have yet
to be completed. The first game the
Lions will play on their field will
be against Penn State Hazleton on
Thursday, March 27 at 1 p.m. Be
sure to cheer them on at this match-
The team has not yet specified
any particular goals for this season,
but a few unwritten aspirations are
obvious and understood amongst
the team.
The ultimate mission is to play
"fundamentally sound baseball,"
said Maschmeyer. But all players
would surely agree that making
and possibly
winning the
NEAC playoffs is
desirable.
Perhaps a good
goal to start
with would be
to do well in the
Pitt-Bradford
Tournament,
which Penn State
Harrisburg's
baseball team is
competing for
March 1 and 2.
They will also
travel back to
Virginia over
spring break,
March 10 through
13, to play Eastern
Mennonite
University,
Washington &
Lee College,
Roanoke College and Lynchburg
College.
Let's hope the Virginia weather
will be more cooperative than the
recent weather facing Penn State
Harrisburg's restless, ready-to-play
baseball team.